PIXIES - DOOLITTLE [LP]

1 Debaser 2 Tame 3 Wave of Mutilation 4 I Bleed 5 Here Comes Your Man 6 Dead 7 Monkey Gone to Heaven 8 Mr. Grieves 9 Crackity Jones 10 La Love You 11 No. 13 Baby 12 There Goes My Gun 13 Hey 14 Silver 15 Gouge Away From the opening bars of DOOLITTLE, the Pixies' brilliant duality comes into focus. Chiming guitar streaks waft over an AOR-ready riff, while vocals bark out references to a deliberately obscure culture. "Debaser," for instance, finds singer/songwriter Black Francis alluding to "Chien Andalou," Spanish director Luis Bunuel's surrealist film renowned for a scene where an eyeball is sliced. The Pixies' calling card is their calculated sonic mayhem. Francis and bass player Kim Deal weave vocal harmonies of inimitable dissonance as guitarist Joey Santiago's leads ring like air-raid sirens. DOOLITTLE perfectly captures The Pixies' refusal to be categorized into one form of musical identity.